Rigid caster



RIGID CASTEH Filed July 14, 1924 INVENTORS.

. W/Lunn li/VOEL mvc. By 67m: 17. SHIT/#7410.

Patented Dec. 29, 1925.

" UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE.

WILLIAM H. NQELTING AND EMIL A. SMITHFIELD, F EVANSVILLE, INDIANA, AS-SIGNORS TO FAULTLESS CASTER COMPANY, OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA, A COR-RIGID (EASTER;

7 Application filed July 14, 1924. Serial No. 725,999.

Z70 all iokom it may concern :Be it known that we, W'ILLIAM H. N OEL-FTING and EMIL A. SMITHFIELD, citizens of the United States, andresidents of Evans- ,ville, county of Vanderburg, and State of Indiana;have invented a certain new and useful 'R-igid Caster; and we do herebyde- "clare that the following is a full, clear, and

exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the'accompanyingdrawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

This invention relates to a rigid truck type caster.

.The chief object of the invention is to produce a caster which can bemade from sheet metal of relatively thin gauge and so fashioned that ithas greater strength than cast iron casters of considerably greaterweight. The several features of the invention whereby relatively thingauge metals may be fashioned into a caster adapted to be rigidlysecured to trucks for heavy duty consists in vertically corrugating theside planes of a caster arcuately depressing the ends of the triangularshaped side flange, corrugating the base or top plate and forming thesecuringholds in an improved manner.

The resultant construction consists in a single'shect for relativelythin gauge metal fashioned as aforesaid to produce a caster having greatstrength and have economical production costs.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of what is commonly called the trucktype caster. Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is a bottom planView of the same. Fig. 4 is an end view. Fig. 5 is a central sectionalview through an opening or securing hole and the associated parts.

In the drawings there is illustrated a top plate having a substantiallycircular portion 1.0 and two diametrically positioned fan tail or wedgeshaped extensions 11. In each of the extensions 11 there is provided apair of openings 12 and opposite openings are also diametricallypositioned as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In order to secure the greatest strength the top plate or base includesa circular corrugation 13 con entri with the subst ntially circularportion 10. Concentric with the corrugation 13 and substantially at ajunctionbetween the fan tail extensions and the circular portions of thebase, there is formed an arcuate or curved corrugation 14.. Likewisemedianly positioned between the openings 12 of each extension 11 is alongitudinally extending corrugation 15 and herein corrugations 15 and14C join to form a T shaped corrugation, the baseor'head of which iscurved and concentric with the circular reinforcing corrugation. Thecircular reinforing corrugation insures against collapse of the circularportions of the base in any diametral plane. The curved corrugation 14insures against longitudinal bending of the plate along the longitudinalaxis. The longitudinal corrugation insures against bending along thetransverse axis at the junction between the extensions 11 and thecircular portions of the base 10.

Extending downwardly from each of the elongated sides and conforming tothe outline thereof is a triangular shaped side flange 16 and there isthus secured a side flange having the corrugation at each end andapproximately one third in therefrom which insures against bending in ahorizontal plane. The intermediate and enlarged or arched portion is notonly drawn downwardly but is also drawn inwardly as shown clearly inFigs. 1, 3, and 4 and thus there is produced an arching effect givingrelatively greater clearance at the tread portion of the wheel 17pivotally supported by the pin or bolt 18 in the openings 19 formedsubstantially at the apex of the inverted triangular frame. As shownclearly in Fig. 1 the triangular frame work adjacent this opening isformed flat as indicated by the numeral 20 to form a pair of parallelbearing plate portions.

Reference will now be had to Figs. 2, 3, and 5. In said figures theopenings 12 are illustrated as defined by a corrugated por tion 21immediately concentric to said opening and herein said corrugationincludes the inturned portion 22 that defines said opening.

The inturned tubular portion 22 is adapted to be drawn toward thesupporting member 23 by a bolt 24 to the nut 25. If the material 23 isof wood or relatively soft material the tubular portion will seat itselfciated with pin 18, they are Securedinsub in said material. Furthermorethe foregoing constmction also acts/as alock nut'for after the nut hasbeen turned up "onthe screw threaded bolt 24, the same-is held -,-against rotation.

a The sideflanges .16 are fashioned so that normally they are divergent.When assostantially parallel relation in opposition to a tendency toseparate thereby-positively in-' suring clearance for the wheel 17 Theinventionclaimed is Y 1. In a-caster; thecombinatlon of a sup-fportingsheet metal base-including two oppositelyextending baseextensions, anda pair of wheel supporting ears depending therefrom,-each ear including a central; bowed po'rtionand a pair-of corrugationsextending "substantially transverse to the base and po sitioned at thejunction of the base'withtheextensions. I r

""2.1A-dev-ice of the character defined by claim l characterized bysaidears being ar- ;rangedso that a plurali-ty of planes passedproximity to each i other than those parallel to the base andsuccessively distant therefromrespectively, each have their centralportion"'intersections in closer prox- -imity to each other than thoseof the closer :plane to the base.

3.-- A; device of the characte1;1; defined by claim 1 characterized bythe central; bowed portionsof the ears having their concave portionsadjacent each other.

4L; A- dev-iceof the character defined by claim 1 characterized by thecentral ,bo-wed portions of the'e'ars having their concave .portionsadjacent each other and being further *cha-racterizedby said earsbeingtarranged so that a' plur ality ofplanes passed parallel tothe baseand successively distantxthere

